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Topic: 1930s Rickenbacher A25 Frying Pan Electronics |
Michael Erlinger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 16 Aug 2021 6:30 pm |
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Hi,
I was very lucky to pick up what I think is an early 1930s A25. I could hear something rattling around inside of the instrument, so I removed the pickup. I was a bit surprised by the wiring I found. It certainly looks old, but I'm wondering if it looks correct. It doesn't match up with any of the early wiring layouts I've seen--but I have not seen many and I've never been on the inside of one of these early examples.
Thanks for any thoughts on this one.
Mike
P.S.
The rattling was the bottom "lid" of the pot which had come loose and was floating inside the body cavity. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 3:56 am
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That is a "hot" only wiring scheme ... found in the earliest frypans.
That "hot" that is running from the first lug (where the pickup "hot" is attached) to the jack ... should be soldered to the middle lug ...
As for the grounding scheme ... there is no ground wire ... the coil "start" grounds to a pole piece ... which grounds the magnets ... which grounds the mounting plate ... which grounds the body ... ultimately grounding to the jack.
That's a beautiful "fat magnet" A25 |
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Michael Erlinger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 7:34 am
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Thanks Rick! I really appreciate the help and your website. I'm going to move the wire running to tip of the jack over to the middle lug of the pot and give it a listen.
I might be pushing my luck, but can I ask you about two other things--they had me scratching my head as I was staring at the original wiring on this one:
First, the sleeve of the output jack has solder and a very little bit of insulated wire on it (same silk or cloth insulation that is on the wiring currently in the instrument).
Second, the bare/non-insulated wire that is visibly soldered to the back/bottom of one of the pickup screws on the bottom of the pickup.
Any chance those two things are factory? I'll be leaving them alone (they don't do anything), but I'm just trying to get a better sense of the instrument's history.
Thanks again,
Mike
P.S.
Here is a shot of the pickup, I was surprised to see the long, staggered pole pieces. I hadn't seen those before . . .
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 7:50 am
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I saw that ... looks like someone (not factory) ran a ground from that mounting screw to the jack ... not knowing how the ground scheme worked ...then removed it .
The pot looks too modern to be original ... they were these large black Centralab 100 k Ohm pots. Probably went bad and someone who really didn't know what they were doing put in the replacement pot ... saw it wasn't working properly ... tried a ground wire there, which didn't help and removed it. Just speculating ....
Anyway, you've got the "creme de la creme" of frypans ... don't worry about a little electronics snafu  |
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Nick Fryer
From:
Ohio, USA
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Michael Erlinger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 10:10 am
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Thanks Rick. I'm actually thrilled to hear that the pot is a replacement as it somewhat frees me (mentally, if not morally) to sub in a new pot of a different value and tweak things just a bit. I'm never eager to "butcher" an original instrument, but I love the freedom to try out a few variations and see what sounds best to my ears without destroying the originality of the instrument. The idea that the solder joint on this pot is not original really does make me happy.
I'm going to start with rewiring this pot correctly, but will eventually try some other volume pot values, but I will likely end up trying to see if I can get wire it up as tone pot only setup.
Thanks again,
Mike |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 11:39 am
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As long as you're not a stickler for originality, why not give one of these things a try?
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Michael Erlinger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 11:59 am
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Thanks for the thoughts Jack. I'm going to add it into the mix. I found a fellow on Reverb making/modifying CTS pots to 250K/250K stacks, and I just purchased one. It really would give me the best of all worlds, if I can get along with the concentric pot.
I really appreciate everyone thoughts on this one.
As the pot is modified, I'm thinking long and hard about flipping the tuners. I'm assuming I can just swap sides and flip them over. Let me know if you all think that is one modification too many. Here is a pic of what I'm looking at (and a nice shot of our laundry room) . . .
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 17 Aug 2021 2:39 pm
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What an amazing early A-25! It looks like it even retains most of the original lacquer---now aged to a nice gold color. You are one lucky guy!!
I personally wouldn't consider flipping the tuners a "mod". It's a pretty common thing to do. |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Chris Clem
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2021 4:47 am
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Or get an original pot,wire it up like the original and have the piece of mind that you did it the right way.
I know it is common on forums to mod everything with some Stew-mac parts. But in the professional world of restorations you don't do that unless you have no other choice.....Chris |
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Glenn Wilde
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2021 7:26 am
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What a beauty. Is that the one that the guy was asking about a month or so ago? From the hoarder house?
If its the same guitar i hope we helped you get it for a good price! Glad it's in loving hands. |
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Michael Erlinger
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 Aug 2021 1:31 pm
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Glenn & Cartwright,
It's one and the same. I didn't get it for a good price, but I did get it. Which is quite good enough for me at the moment. I'm just tickled to spend some time (hopefully a few more decades) with it.
Cosmetically it's lightyears beyond any other examples I've been in the room with, but sonically it still doesn't quite sound as good as others I've played and heard. My fingers are crossed that it's a combination of the pot and/or the wiring error. My fingers are crossed. And I'll be re-stringing it up later today and futzing with the wiring/pot replacement.
And thanks for your thoughts and perspective Chris Clem. I've got a few older 100K Clarostat pots coming my way to try out as well, so the wiring may very well end up being relatively stock. My first move will use the pot the steel came with, but I'll wire it up correctly and see how it sounds.
I'll be back to report on how it ends up sounding and to post some better pictures.
Thanks again everybody. |
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